A Virginia company has purchased 272 convenience stores, including 85 in Arkansas, operated by E-Z Mart Stores Inc., based in Texarkana, Texas.
Although based in Texas, the E-Z Mart brand got its start in Arkansas in 1970, when Jim Earl Yates and his wife, FaEllen, opened their first E-Z Mart in Nashville in Howard County. The chain eventually grew to include more than 500 stores. Jim Earl Yates died, at age 57, in a Dec. 2, 1998, plane crash in Howard County.
In a statement released as part of the sale, Chief Executive Officer Sonja Yates Hubbard cited "humble beginnings" and "lots of hard work and dedication by generations" of employees for the firm's success.
GPM Investments LLC, based in Richmond, Va., announced the purchase this week, with expectations of the sale closing by mid-2018. Both companies are privately held and didn't release a purchase price.
The E-Z Mart stores are in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. The company's website lists 85 stores in Arkansas.
GPM Investments said it had more than 1,100 stores in 18 states before the E-Z Mart deal.